Sam Elliott was born in California, but he has roots in Texas.
Henry Elliott, his strict father, did not encourage him to pursue his aspirations.

When Elliott was eighteen, his father passed away, and he claimed that the event “killed” him.

On August 9, 1944, Sam Elliott, an accomplished actor, was born in Sacramento, California. The seasoned Hollywood actor moved with his parents to Portland, Oregon, when he was 14 years old.

Sam spent a large portion of his youth there. The well-known television personality later attended the University of Oregon to study English and psychology. He only spent two semesters there, though, before moving on to Clark College.

Sam’s mother, Glynn Mamie Sparks, and father, Henry Nelson Elliott, are both natives of El Paso, Texas. She was a physical training instructor and a high school teacher, while he was a predator control specialist.

When they were both lifeguards in El Paso, the pair met. In a June 2017 interview, their well-known son stated, “I’m a sixth-generation Texan, even though I was born in California.”

Sam Elliott’s father was not encouraging and made him enroll in college.

Sam spent most of his time as a child with his father Henry and his pals. Together, they all went fishing. The two-time Emmy nominee described growing up with his father’s buddies during an appearance on “The Off Camera Show” in June 2017:

They were all fairly intense. They acted with dignity. Although they were decent guys, they were hard-core. They were men who worked hard.

Henry took his son to many different locations while he was employed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Even though he dissuaded him from pursuing his goal of being an actor, he only wanted the best for his son.

Henry wanted Sam to have the college experience, despite the fact that he never completed his education, which put the father and son at odds. An ex-star of “The Ranch” revealed in May 2018:

He said to me, “You have a snowball’s chance in hell of having a career in (Hollywood)” (a famous adage). My father was a realist. He put in a lot of effort. I thank him every day for having a work ethic that I have modeled mine after.

His acting career started at Clark College, despite his father’s doubts about his chances of making it in Hollywood. Sam performed in the college’s production of “Guys and Dolls,” competing in the 120-yard-high and 360-yard intermediate hurdles.

The future movie star entered the University of Oregon in 1965 and pledged to the SAE fraternity in the hopes of earning a four-year degree after receiving a two-year diploma. He did not, however, put much effort into his studies.

Sam used his father’s comments that he didn’t want him to be an actor as inspiration. He also cannot stop praising his father, even if they had disagreements when he was younger, saying:

“My father was a good, sensible man, but he was a product of another era.”

Sam was “killed” at the age of 18 when his father passed away, and he later became a builder.

Sadly, Henry suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 54. His wife, son Sam, who was then 18 years old, and daughter Glenda were all left behind. His renowned child spoke about his untimely death and said:

Sam said that his cherished father passed away in his wife’s arms in their Portland, Oregon, living room. His mother, Sparks, lived to be 96 years old until passing away in Portland in 2012. The family house in northeast Portland is currently owned by Sam.

He said that was a challenging time in his life since his father thought he was foolish to desire to be an actor. Henry thought otherwise about what his kid was enthusiastic about growing up, but he still made an effort to watch him in action. Sam revealed:

“He only witnessed a couple of my plays before he passed away. He would probably be pleased that his son developed into the actor I did.

The “Ghost Rider” star said that his desire for his father to be proud of him as a person, not that he was trying to prove anything even after his father passed away, or that he could someday achieve as an actor.

The Academy Award candidate added that it was terrible that his father wasn’t still around to see his success. Sam finally established himself in Hollywood and rose to fame for his iconic cowboy roles.

However, he worked in construction in Los Angeles before finding enormous success in Hollywood, and this was the chance that allowed him to break into the big-screen world.

It all started with a close family friend who lived at the foot of a hill. Sam offered his knowledge since he was worried about the risk of water running down the land and damaging the foundation.

Using “concrete and steel, probably that I absconded with off the job, used the rebar and stuff to go do it,” the “Road House” star went to the house and constructed a little dam.

To his luck, the aforementioned family buddy worked as an assistant director in the entertainment industry. He asked Sam to spend time on sets because he was aware of Sam’s significant interest in having a career in show business.

Sam recalled his friend informing him that if he wanted to observe what was going on the set, the door was open. He enthusiastically accepted his invitation, and he went there. In a September 2015 interview, the Screen Actors Guild Award recipient proudly declared, “My big break — pouring cement.”

Sam left his construction job shortly after that. He played Card Play Number 2 in the opening sequence of the 1969 western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” which was his first acting performance.

Alongside actor Tom Selleck, the prestigious celebrity went on to appear in a number of films, including “Tombstone,” “The Quick and the Dead,” and “The Shadow Riders.”